Some security agencies in the country are yet to get their allocations for July to September from the Ministry of Finance.
They include Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA); the Department of State Security Service (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
The agencies are involved in coordinating counter-insurgency measures and providing intelligence gathering for troops fighting Boko Haram.
By the 2014 Appropriation Act, the allocations to the agencies amount to N109, 753,430,742.
The breakdown is as follows: ONSA(N31,524,806,055); DSS(N41,305,301,146) and the NIA(N36, 923, 323,541).
The Nation reports that the agencies were also given less than 50 per cent of allocations accruable to them in the first and second quarters.
A source told the newspaper that attempts by the agencies to be on First Line charge had been resisted by the Ministry of Finance in spite of the “glaring security challenges” facing the nation.
The source said: “Nigerians talk of security agencies not responding well to the security challenges in the Northeast but they do not know what they are facing.
“As I talk to you, the third quarter allocations for ONSA, DSS and the NIA have not been released. Yet, these agencies play pivotal role in the nation’s counter-insurgency campaign.
“For the first and second quarter allocations, about 50 per cent has not been released. When we opted for First Line Charge, the Ministry of Finance simply said ‘no, don’t do this to us’.”
Another source said the non-release of allocations had been affecting operations against Boko Haram.
The source said: “The reality is that the delay is hampering our operations. You cannot deploy operatives free of charge; it comes with cost.
“For instance, all the services do not operate fuel dumps again; they have to go to gas stations to buy fuel. With what will they buy the fuel?
“When we ask for funds, the Ministry used to say they had only certain envelope available for us.
“Yet, the same ministry releases so much for SURE-P and YouWin projects. Is it not only when you have peace that you can execute these programmes”
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